Pictures

I thought I would post some pictures of what we experienced this past week.  Of the one of our house, you can see the path I shoveled to get to the end of the driveway.  That was on Tuesday, and it was still snowing.

I wanted to show how much snow we've shoveled by taking a picture of our mail box and the pile of snow next to it, but everything is white, it's kind of hard to see. Plus, it was very bright out today (well, actually yesterday, since it's now after midnight) and I couldn't see the screen on the camera to see if it even turned out!

More snow is on the way. How much is anyone's guess!  I'm not looking forward to it.

I Think I Hate Snow

I've seen too much of the white stuff for the past week.  Granted, we didn't get near as much as others, but 5-6 inches at a time adds up.  And we're supposed to get more on Saturday.

This morning I actually got my car stuck backing out of our driveway.  Apparently they had plowed the street and I didn't realize it until I was in the stuff.  Did not start out the day in a very good mood after that!

Another thing I hate about the snow is that it keeps me from writing.  I spent several hours on Saturday shoveling when I would have rather put that time to use on my book.

So between editing my book and shoveling snow, it doesn't leave much time for my blog!

How Do You Know?

How do you know when you’re done with a scene? A chapter? The whole gosh darn novel?

I’ve been editing the THE UNCOMMON ONE (Book 1) for the umpteenth time. I finally got some great feedback from a contest (of which they received an older version). While a lot of the mistakes they noticed had already been corrected (pat on the back), there was a major flaw I didn’t catch: a lot of talking and not much movement/action. The best feedback was the judges thought the story was unique (yea!) and wished me luck on the revisions.

So as I go through my book, I noticed I had improved chapter by chapter (more showing, less telling). I hope it’s just the beginning that needs work, but I’m still going through it scene by scene.

My problem? Every time I re-read something I think I fixed, I always find something else. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied! Is that common?

Obsessions

Is it okay to be obsessed? Sometimes I wonder.

I’ve recently come to the conclusion that I am an obsessed person. Not with everything. God, I’d give anything to be obsessed with house cleaning, but nooo.

As a kid, I was obsessed with television shows. “The Partridge Family” comes to mind – I was a huge David Cassidy fan. Had to have every magazine his face was plastered on. Him and Bobby Sherman (yes, loved “Here Come the Brides”, too).

But TV and celebrities aside, ten years ago I was obsessed with owning a Toyota Celica. Read everything about it. I just had to have that car. Then I test drove it. That pretty much killed that obsession. Reality struck (I ended up buying a Nissan Altima instead – much more practical).

Besides with being obsessed with writing (and what writer isn’t?), now I’m obsessed with a bright yellow Nissan Xterra. I want one. And you know why? All because I wanted John (the character in my book) to have a bright yellow SUV. I nicknamed it “The Bumblebee” in my book and that’s what I call every yellow Xterra I see now.

I told my husband I need to test drive it so I can get rid of this obsession. But what if I love driving it? Then I’m doomed. I will have to get one. And I told my husband if I get published, I’m buying one.

There’s a problem, though. Nissan no longer makes them in yellow. 2008 was the last for that color. I’m heart broken. I want a yellow one.

So, am I strange? Or does everyone have an obsession every now and then?

Simmering

I envy people who can think on their feet. My husband is one of those people and it always amazes me how fast he can react. Me – I come up with good “come-back” lines hours after I need them. When I’m asked “do you have any questions,” I say no, but realize hours later that I do.

I think the reason I’m like that is because I think my mind needs time to “simmer” information. And I proved it to myself just this morning.

Saturday I went to a useful workshop on writing. It was about creating motivation and personalities for your characters. There were writing exercises, but I wasn’t able to complete most of them. I need more than two minutes to think. But I tried. I had some ideas for Book 3, so I thought I would work on those characters. Not much was written by the time I left the workshop at 5:00pm.

But – lo and behold – when I woke up this morning, I thought of a conversation with him and my main character from Book 1 & 2. My mind “simmered” overnight, and wha-la – I discovered his motivation!

So, it’s nice to know I didn’t waste my money on that workshop. It had some useful information after all. I just wasn’t able to process it all until today!